Customary international law plays a significant role in investment arbitration disputes. Parties frequently rely on customary international law as a secondary source of law under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) or a State contract. In some cases, arbitral tribunals have accepted a more prominent role of customary law, i.e., as a self-standing source of international […]
Ukraine’s ICJ Claim Against Russia Under the Genocide Convention
On February 26, 2022, Ukraine filed a claim against Russia before the International Court of Justice to institute proceedings in connection with the military operations commenced by the Russian Federation in Ukrainian territory on February 24.[1] The application is based on Article IX of the 1948 Genocide Convention,[2] according to which the International Court of […]
Sovereign Immunity from Jurisdiction in International Arbitration
Sovereign immunity is divided into immunity from jurisdiction and immunity from execution.[1] The conditions under which these immunities apply are of particular importance in the field of arbitration. According to the French Supreme Court, sovereignty and independence of States prevent one of them from pursuing another.[4] In other words, national judges must refrain from ruling […]
Legitimate Expectations in Investment Arbitration
In its judgment rendered on 1 October 2018 in the Bolivia v. Chile case, the International Court of Justice drew a distinction between public international law and investment arbitration with respect to the notion of legitimate expectations. The Court held that, contrary to bilateral investment treaties where the principle of legitimate expectations of foreign investors […]
Supplementation of an Arbitration Award under the ICSID Convention
The supplementation of an arbitration award under Article 49(2) of the ICSID Convention is a remedy for inadvertent omissions in the award due to an oversight on the part of the tribunal which is likely to be corrected by it once this oversight is pointed out. This oversight should however concern a “question” before the […]